Show Notes
New Ultramarines Datasheets Breakdown — Marneus Calgar, Cato Sicarius, and the new Victrix Honor Guard (are they actually upgrades?)Back from Coventry and Raven Guard testing, and today we're talking ULTRAMARINES.Games Workshop just dropped new datasheets for:- Marneus Calgar (new version),- Cato Sicarius (Terminator armour profile),- Victrix Honor Guard (as a standalone unit).These have been rumoured for a while, and now that we’ve had time to think instead of just reacting, I’m walking through:- what actually changed,- how they compare to the current/old datasheets,- what combos they unlock in actual lists,- and whether they’re real competitive tools or just flavour.This is not hype, this is “would I take this to a tournament?”Topics in this episode:00:00 Intro / why Marines always get new toys 01:05 Ultramarines as a “character chassis” faction 02:05 Marneus Calgar (new profile) - No more 4+++ feel no pain (thank you) - Gains Deep Strike + Terminator keyword - Loses the built-in Victrix “bodyguard package”, becomes more modular - Fall back + shoot/charge AND advance + shoot/charge aura - Why I think he’s ~110–120pts and what that means for list design - Which hosts he actually makes scary (Bladeguard, Eradicators, Stern Guard, Terminators) - Why flexibility - raw stat brick now10:50 Cato Sicarius - Terminator armour, 2+/4++, 5W - Reworked melee kit: strike / sweep / coup de grâce - His heroic intervention aura is cleaner (unit, not just himself) - BUT: loses Scout + Assault from the old datasheet (which was huge) - Can basically only join Victrix now - Does that actually beat just running old Sicarius or a different captain?18:40 Victrix Honor Guard (now their own unit) - Now a standalone choice (you can run multiple squads) - 2+ save, 4W, OC2 bodies with “minus 1 to wound” when led by a Captain/Chapter Master - Banner gives +1 Str / +1 AP once per game - Blood Surge exists, but I explain why blood surge is easier to play around at high skill levels - Twin-linked precision beatstick inside the squad - Why they start overlapping with/possibly replacing Terminators and Company Heroes in a lot of shells25:20 Are these TRUE upgrades? - New Marneus vs old Marneus: trades raw durability (no 4+++/FNP brick) for list freedom and CP utility. This is probably a win. - New Sicarius vs old Sicarius: weapon glow-up, but losing Scout + Assault and being basically glued to Victrix might be a net downgrade. - Victrix vs Terminators/Company Heroes: 4W OC2 minus-one-to-wound infantry with decent guns and melee… feels like “better Terminators” in a lot of lists.31:10 List concepts - Cheap Marneus “CP battery + mobility aura” instead of the full Gilman/Calgar/Victrix bus - Victrix + a budget Lieutenant in a Rhino to create a mobile OC brick that can reactive move / blood surge onto points - Eradicators + Marneus for advance-shoot-charge vs Combined Arms style Guard - Terminators + Marneus using 1CP -1 Damage in melee in First Company Task Force for combat mirror work / teams formats34:15 What I’m doing next - I’ll be building some prototype Ultramarines lists assuming reasonable points costs (I’m benchmarking Victrix at -40ppm and “lean Marneus” at ~110–120) - I’ll show which shells feel like real event lists vs win-more fluffIf you’ve already theorycrafted something disgusting with the new datasheets (especially Victrix bricks or Rhino-delivery ideas), drop it in the comments. If you’ve got an archetype you want me to build on video, tell me and I’ll include it.Also live right now:- Coventry recap (7-1, Raven Guard in practice, Sisters tech, Guard jail setups)- Grey Knights Warp-Bane Task Force masterclass with Innes (Stormraven abuse, macro, matchups)- Guard Combined Arms masterclass with Naim (3 terrain formats, 3 lists, role-by-role breakdown)
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